Tiantang Diqiu
by AznTigress
Summary: Welcome to Tiantang Diqiu, Chinese school of witchcraft and wizardry. Enjoy your stay and mind the dragons. Also watch out for Sun Wukong and his pranks.


天堂地球 (Tiāntáng Dìqiú)

With a name that means "heaven earth", the Chinese school of witchcraft and wizardry predates Hogwarts by centuries. Established during the age of the Three Kingdoms, Tiantang Diqiu began as a cluster of small schools from scattered villages all over China. Eventually, the schools decided to band together and combine their knowledge, forming the basis of what eventually became Tiantang Diqiu. As such, the school is credited to multiple founders but there is no consensus on the specificity of the founders in terms of exact names.

Acceptance scrolls are sent out via fenghuangs disguised as sparrows to magical children upon their twelfth year and a response must be made within nine days of the scroll's delivery; most recipients respond within a day. Students can then seek out a nearby secret magic shop to purchase their school robes, which are of a deep jade coloration and embroidered with a golden bagua. Students have the option to choose either a staff or a wand to help focus their magic, but most go with the modern choice of a wand for its practicality.

Located somewhere in the Qin Mountains, Tiantang Diqiu keeps itself hidden from non-magic eyes by appearing as an insignificant peak. Students usually travel to the school by enchanted clouds, but have more recently begun using broomsticks for convenience as clouds are difficult to compile and enchant.

Tiantang Diqiu's immense size was built gradually over hundreds of years. As such, there is plenty of space within the school to house every student for the duration of their study. Due to the political climate of modern China, it has become the norm for students to remain within the school's dorms even during the off season as it was deemed too dangerous to venture back out into the non-magic world with their newfound knowledge until they have graduated. To help with the long-term separation from loved ones, students are allowed one pet each. Popular pets include turtles, rabbits, dogs, and cats. Magical creatures are expressly forbidden pets for obvious reasons, but that doesn't stop some students from attempting to transform illegal pets into legal ones.

At Tiantang Diqiu, students are sorted into one of 4 houses based on the Four Symbols:

Baihu, the white tiger of the west, represents autumn and the element of metal. The house emphasizes strength and fortitude and, as such, many students sorted into Baihu are usually of the warrior type. Their house color is silver.

Qinglong, the azure dragon of the east, represents spring and the element of wood. The house focuses more on serenity and flexibility and, as such, many students sorted into Qinglong are passive and (usually) stress-free. Their house color is sapphire.

Xuanwu, the black tortoise of the north, represents winter and the element of water. The house emphasizes patience and virtue and, as such, many students are of the righteous sort. Their house color is onyx.

Zhuque, the vermilion bird of the south, represents summer and the element of fire. The house prioritizes efficiency and initiative and, as such, many students sorted into Zhuque tend to have an impatient quality. Their house color is deep yellow.

Students are sorted by standing under the enchanted golden statue of Huanglong, the yellow dragon of the center, located in the school's grand hall. Huanglong's crystal clear eyes would glow in the corresponding color of the appropriate house when sorting. When Huanglong is unable to sort a student, his eyes glow jade green and he allows the student to pick their own house. However, this happens extremely rarely as almost every student gets sorted.

When sorting, Huanglong not only takes personality into account, but also astrological signs and the circumstances of one's birth, all of which culminates into what he considers a firm and most correct sorting. In all the centuries of Tiantang Diqiu's existence, very rarely have students questioned Huanglong's decision. As expected, rumors abound that the founders of Hogwarts were inspired by this idea and implemented their own sorting system for their school, but it's all purely coincidence as there's no evidence that Hogwarts' founders ever visited China.

Tiantang Diqiu offers a similar curriculum to other wizarding schools, which includes potions, history, and spells. Their study of herbalism has shaped Chinese medicine for centuries and even spread to non-magic use outside of the school. Though they also have a divinity class of sorts, it is more focused on Chinese astrology and the twelve animal signs. Students have found that taking the class has allowed them to understand themselves better. The school owns a variety of magical creatures for their corresponding class, which includes a small flock of fenghuang, a qilin, some pixiu, and rui shi, the last of which also serves to guard the school from threats. There is a special elective for those wishing to study dragons in depth, although students must sign a waiver in order to take the class. Unique to Tiantang Diqiu is the study of earthen energies such as qi and crystals. This is often taken in conjunction with their astrology course.

Tiantang Diqiu is the only place in modern China that still utilizes traditional Chinese characters, which confuses newer students that are used to the simplified system. Nevertheless, the extensive use of traditional characters throughout the school serves to push the students to re-learn their written language. This becomes most important (and frustrating) when traditional characters are necessary to cast spells. Of note is a period of time when the Xuanwu house required the writing of the traditional version of the word "turtle" in order to enter the house's common room. Needless to say, many Xuanwu students ended up sleeping out in the school halls until the password was changed.

A mysterious monkey spirit that calls itself Sun Wukong takes up residence in Tiantang Diqiu, often partaking in mischievous antics on faculty and students alike. It is unsure when Sun Wukong came to the school, but popular belief has it that the spirit was attracted to the magic taking place in the school and decided to stay indefinitely. Headmasters and teachers have yet to learn the origins of the spirit as all efforts to interrogate it have been met with pranks. Although it is unconfirmed as to whether the spirit is truly the Sun Wukong of Chinese mythos, the spirit itself has taken a liking to the school and has on occasion helped defend it against outside hostilities.

Tiantang Diqiu has a respectful relationship with Japanese magic school Mahoutokoro, often holding Quidditch competitions between the two. It is not unheard of for Chinese and Japanese wizards and witches to choose one school over the other despite the differences in language. Both schools are frequented by huli jing (known as kitsune in Japan) and utilize statues of jiuwei hu (known as kyubi in Japan) to communicate during dire times.


End file.
